The ramblings of a SAHM who loves her children more than anything. I love saving money, crafting and cooking, along with stating my opinions on a variety of topics. So, if any of these things interest you, then come along for the ride.

Friday, September 30, 2011

I almost wrote a post last night. Except, it would have been more of a pity party than a post. I decided that you didn't want to read that. So, I went to bed with every intention of today being better. Today definitely had its perks, but also so downers. Poor Wildman. His issue with his nether regions just seems to be getting worse. Each day he asks if he gets to see the doctor today. :-( Luckily, just one more week. Hopefully, whatever we find out, there is something they will advise us to do to help him immediately. Poor kiddo shouldn't have to cry when going potty.

On top of that, I was trying to have the mortgage company explain some calculations they had made. Now, I am a very smart person. I can do all sorts of math things. It doesn't make sense to me that I have spoken to them 6 times in the past 2 months, regarding our escrow, and I get a different answer and a different set of numbers each time. It got to the point today that the representative started making those noises people make when they don't want to say something. Hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it. Of course, the supervisor was no better. Sometimes it is things like this that makes you want to go back to the simple days of renting.

Luckily, things got better. Sweet Pea is a teeter-toddling two-toothed sweetie! She took her first few shuffle steps on September 7th and her first real steps the next day. Now she is working on cruising around. She still prefers to crawl, but she is trying to walk more and more each day. She is so beautiful and smart and curious! We new from the start that she would be totally different from Wildman, but sometimes I forget how "well-behaved" Wildman was. The things she gets into! I am glad that I have the gate at the bottom of the stairs. When we head up at night, I let her crawl up. She is so fast and there are about 15 steps. Next week Mimi will get to show her off at her work while Wildman gets his tests done.

Aside from spending some quality time together, we decided to take advantage of the double coupons that K-mart had going on this week. We scored a number of free things. We got $34.40 worth of product for $13.13, or a 62% savings. My deal would have been better if I had not gotten the Hershey bars and the marshmallows, but, we plan on camping out in the backyard this weekend and we needed some S'mores fixins'. We got the brownie mix, shampoo, salad mix and two of the three shave gels for free. The other shave gel was just $0.35 and the lunch meat was $0.24 each. I was hoping that the grocery section of this K-mart would have had some of the other items people had posted as great deals. I had been hoping to stock up on a few other items. The kiddos did great out shopping today (we also sold some old jewelry for a steal and got some tulle to make a skirt of Sweet Pea for Halloween) that we had to get some milkshakes (for Wildman and myself).

I got to end my evening doing something for myself. I call this my Wreath of Fall. I think it captures the major themes of fall: harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving, falling leaves, everything.

Well, this is a little rambling, but I just needed to talk. Have a great evening!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Well, our weekend started innocent enough yesterday. Sweet Pea, Wildman and I headed out for a walk to the park yesterday morning. On our way we saw a dog wandering around. He had a harness and tags on, but his tail was tucked and he looked scared. The road next to where we were walking is some what busy, so every time the dog got closer to the street, I would wave to make sure that the drivers saw him. He started walking back the way we came from, so we slowly followed. Another car pulled up and a girl got out to try and catch the dog, but he was too scared, so they left. We followed him and saw him go up into another person's yard. The man happened to come out and I asked if it was his dog. He didn't recognize the dog, but went over to see him. The dog headed to the man's backyard and the man was able to sit and get the dog to come to him. He read the phone numbers off the tags and I called. Luckily, they were the correct numbers and we were able to get a hold of his owners. His name was Jack and they had been looking for him for about 45 minutes. They were there in less than 5 minutes and were very appreciative. Wildman and I felt really good about out good deed. At our old home, when we had a new roof and siding being put on the house, the gate had been left open. Our dog got out and was gone for 5 days. We were so appreciative when we got the call that he had been spotted. We were just so glad this guy, Jack, didn't have to be gone from home that long.

So, we continued on our walk to the park and back, stopping at a few garage sales on the way home. We then came across another dog that had gotten out. I was a little more leery of this guy. He had obviously gotten off of a stake in the yard (he still had the tether attached to his harness). He kept his distance and, at some point, found a scent he really liked because he took off into some open area between houses, but away from the busy road. Wildman and I liked to think that he found a scent he remembered and he found his way home.

Today I decided I wanted to take advantage of the last day of Petsmart's Family and Friends Weekend for the 15% off. I had already gathered coupons for each of the items I was going to purchase, along with the 15% off coupon and a $3 off coupon for a survey I completed. Once we got there, we found a lot of other great deals. I already had a $2 cpn for the dog food, $0.75 cpn for the cat food, and $1.00 cpn for the cat treats. Once we got there, we scored another cpn for 2 free cans of dog food, a free container of cat food, $2 off the dog treats with purchase of a dog food and I had another $2 off cat food cpn. In total, before taxes, we got $84.75 worth of product for $47.99 after coupons and discounts, a 43.38% savings. We decided to go ahead and get the small bags of pet food, the canned dog food and the cat treats to give to the local humane society. Wildman and I felt really good about our good deeds this weekend. Along with building a tent this morning, Wildman said that finding Jack's mom and our donations for the humane society were his favorite things this weekend.

Friday, September 23, 2011

So, I had promised to update you on Wildman and I am just now finding the time. This month has been a very "medical" month and it looks as though it will continue into next month. I should warn you that, while I have not gotten very graphic, some may be uncomfortable with my descriptions of one of Wildman's issues.

Feeling trapped in the fish bowl of medical issues!

Wildman was seeing specialists for two different issues. The first issue, and simplest, was a murmur in his heart. About 2 years ago, after first moving to town, we went to see the pediatrician for a cold/allergies that Wildman had. The doctor heard the murmur (the first time I had ever been told of a murmur) and made note of it. He said that many times when kids are sick, they can get a murmur, so we were to just listen for it. Over the past 2 years, the murmur has come and gone, which worried the doctor. After a previous visit this summer, the doctor stated that, at Wildman's 4 year old well visit, he would listen and determine if Wildman should see a cardiologist. That visit came and it was decided we should see the cardiologist, so we decided to travel the hour to see the specialist so we could get in more quickly.

The appointment took almost the full 3 hours we were told it would. He had an EKG and, based on those results and the results of the doctor listening to his heart, he had a cardiac ultrasound. That ultrasound has got to be one of the longest ultrasounds I have ever been part of. Good thing that they had a movie playing, but Wildman is so inquisitive. He was trying to find out about what they were seeing and he just kept being told to watch the movie. That really upset me. Why not answer his simple questions? Anyway, after everything, it was determined that he has 2 murmurs. One is more prominent when he is sitting and the other is more prominent when he is laying down. We were told that they are innocent murmurs. They won't get worse and, many times, they go away with age. This was a definite relief!

The second medical issue is a little more personal. I am only writing about it because I had never heard of any issues and it wasn't until another mother had a similar question posted on the Instinctual Mamas Facebook page that I felt I should write about it. Starting in May, about a month or two after starting Wildman on cloth diapers at night, he would wake up in the morning saying his penis hurt. This happened, off and on until the end of May. We had gone to see Kung Fu Panda II and my husband took Wildman to the bathroom. It was at this time that my husband noticed that there was blood coming from his penis. We called the pediatrician and got an appointment. This would be the first of many.

At the first appointment, we were told that this could be something normal. That, due to it being summertime, some boys can get sores on their genitals. We were to not let Wildman take baths, only showers, and to dab after urinating. We did these things. Wildman would still wake up in pain in the morning and there was still blood a few times a week. When we called back, we got an appointment with the Nurse Practitioner. At this time there was a white sore that would sometimes appear on the end. She did an exam and recommended we treat it as a fungal infection. To do a lotion regiment 3 times a day of an anti-fungal cream, anti-itch cream and triple antibiotic. These did nothing! So, we called again. We are now at the end of June.

4 year old boys don't like waiting for an answer

At this next call, the Nurse Practitioner recommended we go have a cultural swab. We had that done and it came back as a bacterial infection, so we started a 14 day regimen of antibiotics. The blood seemed to stop, but the pain was still there. I was still using the cloth diapers, making sure to strip them. No doctor seemed to think they were the issue. Then, a few weeks after the antibiotics stopped, the blood started again. Once again we called the pediatrician, but they didn't know what else to do. They recommended we see a urologist. So, Wildman saw a urologist on August 31. They examined for a stricture and then decided to try an antibiotic cream specific to the bacteria that had been found on the previous swab. We got the cream and the bleeding got worse. We used the cream for a week because I wanted to give it a chance to work, but finally I called to see if this would be normal. We were told to stop the cream. The urologist then felt it would be best to have us see a pediatric urologist. It is amazing how long it can take to get an appointment. You would think blood may speed up the process, but no.

So, we were first scheduled at the same hospital that Wildman

The appointment didn't get moved up any. It will actually be Oct. 6. Wildman will have a renal/bladder ultrasound and then a VCUG. I was told they do 2-3 of these a day and that there is a special team whose sole purpose is to entertain Wildman during the tests. One of the tests is invasive and she said they will have a lights show and other things going on so he doesn't have to focus on the test. After the test, we immediately get to meet with the doctor, who would also be the surgeon if surgery is necessary.

So, that has been our medical adventure so far. In addition to those things, Wildman had one other doctor visit. Wildman first saw the urologist on August 31 and the cardiologist on September 2. We had a well-visit for Sweet Pea on September 1. The evening of August 31, Wildman was helping me bake and went to smell a container that had about 10 drops of scented oil in it. He bumped it and got the oil in his eyes. He wouldn't let us wash them out, so off to the ER we went. I thought having to watch a lumbar puncture being performed on Sweet Pea at 27 days was hard. Try watching them hold down your little one to irrigate his eyes until the entire saline bag is empty. We are ready to be done with doctors. I know our insurance must be hating us, but the hospitals and doctors must be loving us.

So, sorry this is so long. I wish I knew who the other mother was who had a son with pain in the morning so I could discuss more with her. I am glad that we decided to keep being persistent instead of just letting it be at "being a summer thing". Just one more reason I love listening to my Mommy Intuition!

I have a laundry list of topics I have been meaning to blog about. I still have a Rockin' Green giveaway to do, along with updating you on Wildman. I promise those things are coming. This topic came up last minute and I just have to vent.

First I should apologize for being duped into the whole scam. For those of you who have not heard, the Save Baby Myah Facebook page, fundraisers, everything, were scams. The mother, who has multiple aliases, started raising money shortly after Myah was born. There is a Myah, but she is a healthy little girl (which is great to hear). I want to apologize for the links that I posted for the different fundraisers, especially if any of you ended up giving money to this cause. I personally bought 2 diapers from the Hyena Cart page.

I don't know what upsets me more about this whole situation. I don't know if it is the thought of all the people who donated and prayed and tried to help this little girl. The stories I read of people trying to get donated colostrum to Myah because her bloodwork didn't look good. The WAHMs who donated time and supplies for fundraisers. Or is it the thought that this woman is actually raising this little girl. That someone could be so deceitful as to use a beautiful little girl to scam others. What good could she possibly have thought would come of this? What lessons did she think she could possibly teach Myah? This is how you lie, this is how you run a scam.

What also upsets me are some of the comments people have left on the news stories. People are so obsessed with their own problems that they can't seem to step out of their little box. One person went on about how "big buisness" scams us out of billions and nothing happens, this mother ONLY scammed us for about $10,000. She should only get a slap on the wrists and be sent on her way. SERIOUSLY! To me, this has nothing to do with the money itself. Obviously this didn't work out as well as she planned because she is still living off the state. What upsets me the most is how this is another drop in the "cup half empty" world we have been creating.

I remember when I would go to stores and there would be the boxes on the counters for you to donate to help a local family who had medical bills. Or there was a little boy with cancer. You didn't think twice about putting some spare change in the jar to help them out. Now, I feel like I don't know who to help. You want to try and help individuals because the bigger charities cannot reach everyone. How do you know who to help? Heck, even the Susan G. Koman foundation has started to get greedy. Sometimes it feels like it is harder to do a good deed.

There is something good from all of this. Myah's mother did direct people to the National Marrow Donor Program. I did get a kit, swabbed my cheek, and I am officially registered to be a donor. I believe there are many others out there who also signed up in the hopes of being a match for Myah. If you didn't sign up, I urge you to. Bone marrow is something that we countinue to produce, but we can also give to others. It doesn't involve major surgery and can save someone's life.

In closing, I want to again apologize for involving any of you in this scam. It isn't something that you could look up on Snopes, and the only reason we know of it now is because the police wanted to prevent people from donating to a fundraiser that was going to be held this past Tuesday. I know there are people who are in legitimate need for help, I just hope they can still get the help they need and scams like this don't deter too many people.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

So, I am sure you are all wondering, "Why are we looking at a picture of a shower curtain?"

The short answer, "It gave me some of my sparkle back."

Let me explain. I have had this shower curtain since I was pregnant with Wildman. I LOVE it. I love the bright colors, the sequins, it sparkles, it makes me smile. I had it up at our last house because I felt it worked well with a kids bathroom. When we moved to our current house, I planned on putting it up. Then I thought I should leave the more subdued curtain up that was there when we moved in. I thought it seemed more grown up and if we were to be making friends with people my husband worked with, I wanted to seem more sophisticated (yes, all of this from a shower curtain!). So, I put it in a bag and put it in the attic. I would think of it some times, but didn't bother with it.

Fast forward to today. I was taking boxes up to the attic from our garage sale. I had taken down the subdued curtain to wash. While in the attic I spotted the fish curtain and grabbed it. I stopped everything else I was doing, headed to the main bathroom (also the kids bathroom) and put it up. When I stepped back, I couldn't help but smile. I then said to myself, "I am getting some of my sparkle back. Thanks Sparkle Mama."

I follow a great blog, The Sparkle Mama. She is on Facebook and has a separate blog. She writes about trying to get her "sparkle" back. Tonight, this moment with the curtain made me stop and think about my sparkle, something I didn't think I was missing.

I have to say that I think everyone looses their sparkle at some point. It can be short term, due to stresses at work, home, etc. It can be long term, job loss, death, separation. It can also just dull overtime and not be due to any one thing. I know I have had times lately where I have felt as though I was floating along. I love my life, but I didn't always feel as happy as I want to. I was looking for that something to grasp that would bring my sparkle back. This past week has been full of medical stresses (I will write about that tomorrow). Add to that trying to deal with normal mommy stuff and preparing for a big vacation, it can be overwhelming. What this curtain represented to me was the need for me to look in myself and find those things that make me sparkle again. I need to be more true to myself and not worry so much about what other people think. The funny thing is, I never found myself as someone who did care about what others thought. This curtain gave me the "umpf" to realize I needed to schedule some more crafting time, more cuddle time and some more sparkle time.

You can do it too. Whether your sparkle has dulled due to a temporary issue or because of something bigger, find something small that you can grasp. Something that will help you shine up your sparkle, add some sparkle dust! Heck, mine was a shower curtain, what is your thing?

Friday, September 2, 2011

I just wanted to let you guys know about a review and giveaway over at 29 Diapers. The review was written by The Sparkle Mama so everyone could see how the diaper works for a toddler. The diapers are ADORABLE! Head on over and check it out!